Animalium
by impromptucoffee
Summary: "We're known as animalium." - There were many stories Blaine had heard growing up about the humans who weren't so human. They were feared, different
1. Animalium

**Title: **Animalium (Of Animals)  
><strong>Summary: <strong>"We're known as animalium." - There were many stories Blaine had heard growing up about the humans who weren't so human. They were feared, different.

**A/N: **So I was amusing myself looking at art of Kurt as different animals this morning and well.. this came out. It's something new for me but it was interesting to write. This is also partially written for _cass-dawg_ who requested a chapter like this in 'Hug.' Well, you got an entire fic instead. Enjoy :)

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><p>There were many stories Blaine had heard growing up about the humans who weren't so human. They were feared, different, and before he'd really worked them out for himself, he'd spent nights awake, fearing men with claws or razors for teeth. No one told him how far away from the truth that really was.<p>

At the age of sixteen, he saw one. It stopped him on a staircase and asked for help and Blaine blinked up at it – no, _him _– and stumbled over a breath. He was beautiful. Tall, pale and the opposite of every whisper and rumor he'd ever heard. He may be not-so-human but he certainly felt like a fully formed, normal boy as Blaine took his hand and pulled him through corridors and as he sang, there seemed nothing wrong with the slight twitch of Kurt's chestnut ears, that sat a top his head, between strands of perfectly styled hair. He quite literally blushed to the tips of them, the insides turning a darker shade, as Blaine flashed him a smile and passed him coffee.

_Courage, _Blaine had said to him. _Courage._

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><p>Blaine took a little of that courage for himself a month or two later. Kurt lay stretched out on his front on his dorm bed, tail waving aimlessly from side to side as he flicked through their latest set text, pen scribbling over the page every now and then and Blaine watched him intently from his place by the desk.<p>

"Kurt?" Kurt hummed in response and didn't look away from his work. Blaine twiddled his thumbs in his lap and kicked lightly at the floor. "Can I ask you something?"

"Two seconds." Kurt made a final note in his book, slid his pen inside as a place keeper and looked up at Blaine. "Ask away."

Blaine cleared his throat. "It's uh, about your ears and tail." Kurt pressed his lips together and nodded. "I don't want to seem rude or anything but I don't know anything about this stuff except for stories when I was little." He couldn't quite read Kurt's expression so he said quietly, "I want to understand."

Kurt stayed silent for a long while. His tail had stopped moving and there was only the occasional movement of an ear. "We're known as animalium." Blaine sat patiently, waiting for more. "It's Latin for 'of animals.' No one quite knows how long we've existed, but the name was thought to have come about during the years that Latin died out as a spoken language on its own. It's…" He stopped for a moment and swung his legs around to sit cross-legged with his hands curled around his knees. "It was after that many went into hiding. Although we had a name, which meant people were accepting our existence, they weren't ready to accept what we actually are. Like I said, the translation is 'of animals' and that has a lot of bad connotations for a lot of people. Some even believe we're born through bestiality." Blaine's breath audibly hitched and Kurt scratched irritably at his thigh. "We're not of course, but they won't think for a second that human DNA could go _this _wrong." He lifted his arms a little, looked down at himself then dropped them with a sigh. "I don't know how it happened or how it still happens, but it does," he shrugged. He glanced up at Blaine who had his head cocked to one side with an almost shy smile on his face.

"I don't think it went wrong. It's just another quirk of the human race."

One corner of Kurt's mouth twitched up. "Yes, well. Not everyone would agree." An awkward silence settled between them. "Um, do you want to know any of the science or anything? I don't know a lot but-"

"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "I mean- just… yeah."

"Well we all have a string of DNA that differs from humans. It's not the exact copy of the animal we have the traits of but there are elements of it in there and depending on how much each one of us has, it changes how much of an animal we are. Many of us have a small amount so they look like me with just ears and a tail. It's incredibly rare for us to have more than around 20% of an animals DNA but uh…" He drummed his fingers once on his kneecap. "Have you heard of centaurs?"

"They're real!" Blaine said before he could stop himself. He clapped a hand over his mouth and mumbled an apology into it. Kurt reassured him it was fine and continued.

"They've become parts of myths and legends over time because nothing quite like them has existed for a long time. There was only a few of them and they each had no more than 70% of animal DNA."

"Wow," Blaine breathed, slipping down a little in his chair. "So you have 20% of a cats DNA?"

"Mmmhmmm. Most of it contributes to the tail and the ears but some of it is hormonal and… stuff."

"Stuff?" Blaine asked with a slight laugh.

Kurt waved a hand around in thought. "It's like we take on some animal behaviours, so sometimes I can have a craving for milk. Things like that."

"Ah," Blaine nodded. "Thank you," he then added. "For telling me all that."

Kurt smiled and rubbed a hand over one of his cat ears. "It's fine. A lot of humans are scared to ask in case they don't like what they hear. They don't want to understand."

"I'm not a lot of humans." Blaine swung back round to the desk, leaving Kurt to blink at the back of his head with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape.

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><p>Blaine chewed on the end of his pen, work forgotten, as he stared at Kurt across the room, giggling and singing along with Nick and Jeff every now and then. Kurt was sat on the sofa opposite the two boys, his tail curving up behind his back and curling away from his head, occasionally rippling against his spine as he laughed. Wes plopped himself down next to Blaine and nudged him in the shoulder.<p>

"You could just tell him you know?"

"Hmm?" Blaine hummed absently, turning his head slowly away from Kurt. Wes rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.

"Tell him you like him."

"But I-"

Wes raised a finger to silence him. "Everyone from here to the South Pole can see you do." Blaine shrunk a little and tapped his pen nervously against his palm. Wes eyed him curiously. "I was only joking, Blaine. I didn't mean to be rude or anything."

"No, no, it's fine," Blaine said in a rush. "I do like him but he told me a few things the other day that got me thinking is all."

"Can I ask what they were?"

Blaine's gaze flicked briefly to Kurt who flushed as he looked away. The inside of his ears darkened like they had the first time Blaine sung to him. "I, uh-"

"I understand if he's trusting you with some private information," Wes said, raising his hands. "I'll ask no more."

Blaine scratched at his forehead. "He thinks no one will ever love him."

"Oh. Because of…"

"Yeah," Blaine sighed, dropping his chin to his chest. "I'm scared he'll think I'm doing it out of pity."

Wes looked over at Kurt to catch him eyeing Blaine again, nibbling lightly on his bottom lip. "Maybe you should try telling him anyway. You're good friends and if it doesn't work out, you'll still have that."

"Mmm." Blaine twirled his pen through his fingers and smiled up at Wes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Wes grinned, delving into his bag and laying his own work out on the table, distracting Blaine with algebra for a good portion of the afternoon.

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><p>"I," Kurt said as he burst into Blaine's room, kicking the door shut behind him, "need a cat nap." Blaine was sat up against his pillows reading and he remained still as Kurt crawled onto the bed, took the book from his lap and curled into his side. Kurt maneuvered one of Blaine's arms to lie across his shoulders and Blaine looked down at the top of Kurt's head where it rested against his chest. His ears were still and Blaine lifted a curious hand to trail his index finger from the tip to the base of the left one. Kurt made a content noise and rubbed his cheek against Blaine's t-shirt, just over his heart where Blaine was sure he'd be able to feel the steadily increasing thump.<p>

"I like your ears," Blaine said absently, now running all four fingers over the one he'd previously touched. It twitched a little against his fingers.

"They're weird," Kurt mumbled. "And useless." Despite his words, he arched into Blaine's hand where his fingers now tangled through his hair between the ears and his thumb flicked at the pointed tip of one.

"Can you hear through them?"

"No. Hence the useless."

"You can feel me touching them though?" Blaine got his answer, although he already knew it, as he scratched lightly at one ear, smiling as Kurt squirmed a little. He stopped when he felt a small vibration rumble through Kurt's chest. "Was that-"

"No," Kurt said quickly. Blaine brought his hand down to the back of Kurt's head and scraped his nails lightly against Kurt's skin through his hair. "_Blaine_," he whined, curling his fingers into Blaine's shirt as it happened again.

"You're purring," Blaine grinned. Kurt shook his head and pushed away to sit at the other end of the bed. He crossed his arms and refused to meet Blaine's gaze. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No its… I'm just not used to it. It hasn't happened since I was little, when my Dad would scratch behind my ears." Kurt continued more quietly. "It's sort of an… affection thing. I- I thought it was just a family thing but I guess it happens when someone… special does it."

Blaine swallowed heavily. "I'm someone special?"

"Yeah," Kurt whispered. "You mean a lot to me."

"Can you come back over here?" Blaine traced a pattern over the duvet where Kurt was sat before. "I won't touch your ears or anything if you don't want." Kurt slowly moved back up the bed, settling into the position he was before. He looked at down at their feet and stretched his socked toes out against Blaine's bare ankle.

"I don't mean to get weird about stuff sometimes," he said after a while. "I'm still learning new things though and I get a little scared."

"It's okay. We'll learn together." Blaine squeezed Kurt's bicep where his hand rested. "Do you want to watch a movie? _Sound of Music_'s already in the player." Kurt's ears perked up and Blaine chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

"That's a hell yes."

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><p>Kurt fell asleep during <em>Favourite Things <em>and Blaine refrained from stroking over his ears. Even if Kurt wasn't conscious, Blaine couldn't betray his trust. Instead he ran his hand up and down Kurt's spine in a long, firm line. Kurt snuffled lightly every once in a while and his tail moved a little with the noise, eventually winding once around Blaine's forearm.

"Animal behaviour indeed," Blaine said to himself with a smile.

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><p>"Oh my God," Kurt groaned as he woke up, blinking against the light. He slumped against the bed, frowning as he rolled over into someone else.<p>

"Whazzah?" Kurt lifted his head and snorted as he took in the sight of Blaine. His hair was mussed, falling in gel covered curls over his forehead. He looked down at Kurt. "Oh… hey."

"Hey," Kurt smiled, settling on his front with an arm bent across Blaine's stomach just under his chest and his chin resting on the back of his palm. "How quickly did I fall asleep?"

"_Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes," _Blaine sang.

"_Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," _Kurt continued, bobbing his head from side to side. Blaine laughed a little and trailed off into a sigh. He reached out a hand to move a piece of hair from Kurt's forehead but pulled it back at the last moment to scratch at the back of his neck.

"How you doing?"

"Okay," Kurt shrugged. Blaine kept watching him, seeing the blue fade into flecks of green and brown around his pupils.

"You know what you said yesterday about me being special?" Kurt flushed a little and nodded. "Is it okay if you're someone special to me too?"

"I thought it was a mutual thing anyway," Kurt said quietly. Blaine's eyes flicked to his tail as it straightened up towards the ceiling then folded forward into a loose curl over his back. Blaine then looked past it into empty space.

"I like you, Kurt."

"As… more than friends?" Kurt asked hesitantly, picking at the side of Blaine's t-shirt with his free hand.

Blaine nodded and ran a hand over his face. "I wanted to tell you before but when you talked to me about thinking no one could love you… I didn't know how you'd react."

"Sorry." Kurt got up onto his knees and sat back on his heels.

As Blaine sat himself up against the headboard he said, "No, don't apologise. Everyone has that fear and I can't imagine what it's like for your kind. But I really do like you, Kurt." He gave Kurt an earnest look and was glad when he shuffled a little closer, to kneel by his torso. He drew patterns on Kurt's knee, watching his finger move around. "It's not pity, I promise." He glanced up at Kurt. "You're beautiful. I've thought so since the staircase."

Kurt's own hand moved along his thigh and he reached his index finger out to knock against Blaine's. They danced around each other for a while then locked together. "So you actually do like my ears?"

"And your tail," Blaine added. "It adds to who you are. They've made you, well, you."

"And you like me?" Kurt asked shyly, twisting their linked fingers and unfurling the others as Blaine did the same so they slid over each other.

"I do." Blaine flattened their palms against each other and slotted his fingers into the spaces between Kurt's. Kurt's breath caught in his throat and he coughed lightly, drawing Blaine's attention. "Are you scared?"

"Not of you," Kurt said slowly. "I don't really know what of."

Blaine squeezed his hand. "It's okay. We'll learn together."

Kurt smiled and moved a little closer so his knees pushed against Blaine's hip. He swallowed and leant towards Blaine, splaying his free hand out over his chest. Blaine kept his eyes trained on Kurt's, afraid that if he blinked, he might be gone. The contact was lost as Kurt glanced down at his mouth, faces hovering close and both of them slid into darkness as Kurt twisted down just so and pressed their lips together. Blaine exhaled heavily through his nose at the feel of Kurt's eyelashes fluttering against his temple. His free hand lingered over Kurt's shoulder and he finally let it fall, swiping his thumb over the collarbone below. The unfamiliar rumble pulsed through Kurt's chest and he moaned against Blaine's mouth before pulling away.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, petting at Blaine's chest. "Still not used to that."

"I like that too," Blaine murmured. He kissed at Kurt's collarbone through his shirt and Kurt shivered, closing his eyes and biting his lip through the purr. Blaine pulled back, seeing Kurt's tail ripple from base to tip out of the corner of his eye. "I like knowing I'm the only one who can make you do that."

"It- it's nice," Kurt said, eyes still closed. Blaine kissed him once then slumped back down to the bed. Kurt's eyes opened and he took his legs out from under himself, keeping his and Blaine's hands joined between them. Without another word, Kurt settled beside him, much like the night before, and Blaine set the DVD player going, singing idly along with the music and playing with Kurt's ears just to hear him purr.

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><p>They arrived early to Warbler practice the next week. Blaine fell into one of the sofas with an exhausted sigh and Kurt did the same, throwing his legs over Blaine's lap and lolling his head against the top of the sofa cushion, one of his ears slightly rubbing against Blaine's arm that lay across it. Blaine opened his mouth to speak when Wes' head popped between them. He grinned at Blaine.<p>

"You told him then?"

Kurt lifted an arm and pressed two fingers to Wes' forehead, pushing him backwards. "Don't ask questions you know the answer to."

"Aww he's a grumpy kitty today," Jeff said with a pout as he came in with Nick. Kurt rolled his eyes and Blaine scratched at his scalp while looking at Jeff.

"He knows how to hiss, Jeff." He arched an eyebrow. "It's kinda scary."

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest. "That's an unfair advantage. I could hiss back but it would be unimpressive." Nick began to hum and Kurt threw a cushion at him as he recognized the tune.

"What?" Blaine frowned, looking between the two.

"_Everybody wants to be a cat," _Nick sang. "_Because a cat's the only cat, who knows where it's at."_

Blaine groaned and followed Kurt's lead by throwing a cushion. "Don't be cruel."

"_Everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat," _David danced into the room, clicking his fingers, "_'cause everything is obsolete." _Kurt giggled a little as they continued, Warblers slowly filing into the room and joining in. Blaine played with the fur of Kurt's tail as he slid its tip through his fingers, watching Kurt with a smile as the other boys sang.

_Courage, _Blaine had said. And courage Kurt had.

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><p><strong>Leave a review on your way out? :)<strong>


	2. Energy

**I am having a ridiculous amount of fun writing this and I already had ideas yesterday to create more. Each chapter will be about a different behaviour Kurt has and, essentially, Blaine's reaction to it. And that makes it sound quite boring, but I promise you it's not.**

**My friend Jammy's reaction to this chapter: "There is an actual use for Blaine's lack of respect towards furniture. HOORAY!" Now, enjoy :)**

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><p><strong>Animalium: Energy<strong>

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><p>Kurt and Blaine were finding out that everyday was a learning curve. When they were just friends, it was once a week at most, but more often once a fortnight, they'd discover something new about Kurt. They'd discovered over time that every Tuesday evening he wanted milk and he had a tendency to scratch too hard at the sofa arm during particularly boring Warbler practices. Wes still hadn't quite forgiven him for that one. Or two.<p>

Although it was only small nuances and quirks they'd find, like new spots Blaine could scratch to make him purr, it was something. Kurt was still afraid though and with a little time and ear scratching from Blaine, he'd worked out he was right not to be scared of Blaine, but it didn't stop him worrying about himself. He wasn't imagining growing claws or starting to bite strangers but he didn't know what other behaviours he had. So, naturally, he was scared.

And as always, Blaine said "Courage."

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><p>Blaine knocked lightly on Kurt's bedroom door and pushed it open cautiously. Kurt's head whipped up and looked across at him from the bed, which was covered in notes and open textbooks, his eyes narrowed.<p>

"What?"

Blaine tapped nervously on the edge of the door. "Wes is rounding everyone up for a meeting." Kurt growled and threw his pen down on the bed, scrambling over all the paper to slip his shoes on. Blaine shifted from foot to foot in the doorway, watching Kurt tie his laces, pulling violently at the bow to tighten it. Kurt had been getting more on edge everyday for the past week and as much as Blaine wanted to ask, sometimes Kurt needed to work out his behaviour on his own then explain to Blaine. But the question had slipped out before Blaine could stop it. "Are you okay?"

Kurt pushed himself up from the bed and flexed his fingers at his side, eyes fixed on the floor. "I'm _fine_." His shoulders then sagged and he traipsed towards Blaine, resting his forehead on Blaine's shoulder, mumbling "Sorry" into it.

Blaine twisted his chin up and pressed a kiss to one of Kurt's ears. "You'll work it out soon." Kurt smiled against the cotton of his blazer and pushed him lightly out the door. "Hey, hey, I'm going," Blaine chuckled as he tripped a little over his feet. Kurt shut and locked his dorm room then linked his hand with Blaine's, swinging them back and forth on their way down the hall.

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><p>"<em>Blaine.<em>" Blaine groaned as the insistent knocking on his door continued and what he thought was Jeff's voice hissed his name again. He glanced up at his clock, read that it had just gone two in the morning, and flopped against his pillows.

"Go away," he grumbled at a volume he hoped Jeff would hear.

"Blaine, get out here now. It's about Kurt." Blaine rolled onto his back and sat up with wide, now very much awake, eyes. He threw his duvet off and launched himself across the room, narrowly avoiding hitting his kneecap on the bed in the dark. He was sure that with a little more force the hinges of his door would've rattled off at the speed he opened it. Jeff flinched and placed a hand over his heart. "Don't _do _that."

"Where's Kurt?"

"He's fine," Jeff said, squeezing Blaine's shoulder. "We just thought you might wanna see this."

"You're really not convincing me he's fine." Blaine crossed his arms across his chest and shuffled out into the hallway. "Where is he?"

"Senior commons."

Blaine asked no more questions. He set off through the school, grey sweatpants dragging behind his heels where they were too long. He bounded down the stairs, allowing himself a small twirl on the step where Kurt had first stood and changed his world, before sliding along the corridor to the commons. The doors were open and he frowned a little on first look in, seeing nothing but a dimly lit room where each of the lamps in the corners were on and casting shadows across the leather sofas.

"I googled it."

Blaine yelped as Kurt appeared from behind a sofa in an oversized Dalton t-shirt and slightly baggy, grey cotton shorts that came down to his knees. He swung his legs up gracefully and landed flat-footed on the back of the sofa. He straightened up and stretched his left foot out in front of him, just his toes touching the leather, until he sprung forward, stepping lightly on his feet until he had nowhere else to go but to jump to the floor. Blaine watched him warily, hovering one hand in mid-air. "Googled what?"

"Cats," Kurt answered simply, and with a smile, hopping off the sofa into a crouch, his tail arching over him. "This is an anomaly." As if that explained everything, he shot across the room, curled his hands around the edge of the mantel above the fireplace and hauled himself up, turning in the air and sitting on the small surface. Blaine walked further into the room to stand in the middle, opposite him. Kurt had now pushed himself down and was jumping from sofa to table to sofa, giggling a little.

Blaine's head followed the movement, nodding up and down as he went. "Kur-"

"When younger cats haven't had a chance to burn off energy," Kurt begun, stopping on one of the sofas with his arms out, ears twitching, "they dash around the place late at night. Sometimes," he stepped into the middle of the table between the sofas and turned to face Blaine, eyes shining, "they climb on the furniture."

Blaine hummed in thought and moved forwards, reaching a hand out to stroke over Kurt's stomach but Kurt spun on his heel, climbed over the sofa to his left and went to stand a few feet behind Blaine. "Why is this an anomaly?" Blaine asked as he turned around. It seemed Kurt couldn't stay still for long as he spun backwards in three circles away from Blaine.

"By younger cats, I'm referring to kittens. Children in human terms and animalium partus in mine."

"Partus?" Blaine frowned, still watching Kurt make his way around the room, more often than not dancing across the backs of the sofas.

"Literal translation is 'of animals child.'" Kurt got onto the mantel again, this time standing up on it.

"Oh my _God, _please get down," Blaine said with wide eyes, scooting around the table to stand beneath him, craning his neck. The ends of Kurt's feet stuck out over the edge of the mantel and Blaine's neck was at their height. He gripped just above Kurt's ankles, hoping to keep him steady. Kurt continued on with his explanation, regardless, grinning down at Blaine.

"I'm not a kitten and am no longer regarded as animalium partus. To be specific, I'm animalia antiquis. 'Of animals old' in modern language."

"So you shouldn't actually be standing on the mantel," Blaine said, tightening his hold on Kurt as he began to laugh.

"Nope." Kurt gestured at himself. "Yet here I am."

"Yet here you are," Blaine laughed nervously. "Now can you _please _get down?" Kurt complied once Blaine had stepped back a little and released his ankles. Blaine sighed and closed his eyes in relief, only to open them in surprise moments later as Kurt jumped onto his back, locking his ankles together around his front and his arms around his shoulders. Blaine swayed unsteadily for a moment, slipping his arms under the bend in Kurt's knees to hold him up.

"I think I found something new to climb on," Kurt said in a low voice, flicking his tongue against Blaine's earlobe and wriggling a little. "Comfy too."

Blaine hoisted him up further and turned his head slightly. "Can I take you back upstairs now?" Kurt hummed the affirmative and kept licking at Blaine's ear or pressing kisses to his neck and Blaine made appreciative noises.

Kurt laughed through his nose, his breath tumbling over Blaine's skin in waves of warmth. "Looks like I can make you purr too."

"Better when you do it," Blaine replied as he climbed the last stair to the dorms, padding quietly along the hallway. He awkwardly opened his door once they arrived and kicked it shut once inside, turning on the light and dropping Kurt onto the bed. Before he could even move, Kurt was up on his feet. He wheeled Blaine's desk chair across the room until it's back rested against the side of the wardrobe and he hopped onto it. Stretching his arms up, he got a grip on the corner where the side turned into the top and scrambled up, turning himself gawkily until he was on his front, chin resting in his palms, facing the way he had climbed up.

Blaine stared up at him with an open mouth. "Wha… just… _what!_"

"Cat skills," Kurt said proudly, swiping his tail against the ceiling. Blaine shook his head and made his way over, kneeling on the chair and cautiously standing up in fear the wheels would set in motion underneath him. Kurt looked down in amusement as Blaine blinked up at him, realizing there was a gap between them and got onto his tiptoes. Keeping himself up with his fingers curled over the top of the wardrobe, Blaine pressed their mouths together.

"You really do have a lot of energy don't you?" he murmured as they parted, wobbling a little on his toes.

"Practice and school work got on top of me," Kurt shrugged. "It's a normal human thing but being what I am, I think I accidentally pushed myself into this behaviour."

"Could be worse," Blaine mused, tucking a stray piece of hair behind Kurt's ear and falling back to flat feet, leaving his hand against Kurt's face. "You know I like jumping on the furniture every now and then so next time, I'll join you."

"You and you're strange quirks," Kurt sighed in mock exasperation, nuzzling against Blaine's palm.

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><p>Kurt did in fact bring Blaine to join him the next time. Blaine had woken up early morning to find Kurt hovering over him and licking at his neck. They'd quietly left his room, hopping down the stairs two at a time and running over benches in corridors, suppressing giggles that would echo and bounce off the walls.<p>

Blaine found himself thanking the stars more than once that night as he watched Kurt smile in pure relaxation and twirl through the halls. This was happiness.

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><p><strong>I now just really want cat ears and a tail ...<strong>


	3. Gifts

**A/N: It's the 4th February and it's snowing. Don't you just love English weather patterns?**

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><p><strong>Animalium: Gifts<strong>

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><p>"Happy December 9th."<p>

Blaine flicked his eyes between Kurt's face above him, smiling widely, and the open hands in front of his own face. There was a single red rose lying across Kurt's palms and Blaine took it, sniffing it once. "Thank you." Kurt nodded, leant down and placed a lingering kiss on Blaine's cheek, then walked away. Blaine watched him go until the tip of his tail had disappeared with the rest of him around a corner.

David leant over from the table next to Blaine's. "What was that about?"

Blaine shrugged, placed the rose carefully over his work and dug through his bag for his diary. He flicked through to December 9th and frowned at the blank page. There was nothing of importance coming in the next week either. He looked back up at the open doors Kurt had left through and idly played with the petals of the rose. Muttering a quick goodbye to David, he packed up his things and headed for his dorm.

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><p>Blaine's computer was sleeping as he came into his room so he flopped into his desk chair, woke it up and placed the rose in his pencil pot for the time being. He brought up Google and typed in 'cats bringing gifts.'<p>

A various assortment of websites came up. There was of course the typical range of questions on Yahoo Answers from people too lazy to look it up themselves and he searched for about ten minutes and came to one conclusion: Kurt was hunting. Sort of. Blaine knew cats tended to bring gifts of dead mice or other animals home so he assumed the flower was the animalium way of doing it. Romance rather than rats.

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><p>Kurt didn't bring anything else until three days later. Blaine had barely seen him all day and after Warbler practice, he had leant over to ask Kurt if they were still heading to the Lima Bean, but he was gone. Blaine walked up to his room on his own and lay staring at his ceiling for the next forty-five minutes. He was interrupted after that time by Kurt stood in his doorway with a red nose and two cups of coffee, each with the Lima Bean logo on the side. Blaine pushed himself up to lean on his elbows.<p>

"Why did you go without me?"

"It's cold outside," Kurt said simply, shutting Blaine's door and passing Blaine his coffee once he'd sat up. When Blaine looked confused, Kurt tutted. "I know how much you hate driving in the cold because by the time the inside of the car is a good temperature, we've arrived at the Lima Bean so I went to get your coffee for you and saved you the fuss."

Blaine took a sip of his coffee and glanced up at Kurt, who was now sat opposite him on the bed, through his lashes. "I like the fuss if it means spending time with you." Kurt smiled and ducked his head. "But thank you." Blaine took another mouthful and let the warmth seep through him. He then eyed the cup curiously. "This is a medium drip."

"That's what you always have." Kurt cocked his head to the side. "Isn't it?"

"This is a medium drip… with cream."

Kurt shrugged casually and drank his own coffee. "You only ever order cream to treat yourself after a competition win or a good exam. Today it's my turn to treat you for just being you."

"We're so cheesy," Blaine laughed, placing his coffee on the bedside table. Kurt watched him get onto his knees and place his hands either side of his crossed legs, so their faces hovered close. "But thank you. Again." Kurt leant forward for a kiss, cupping Blaine's cheek with his free hand and murmuring, "You're welcome," between breaths.

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><p>It turns out Kurt's gifts got bigger andor more expensive over time. After the coffee, Blaine rolled over in the morning, expecting Kurt to be by his side but in his place was a large toy puppy. A _huge _toy puppy in fact. Kurt can't have been long gone because the spot he slept in was still warm but the bathroom door was open and the light off so Blaine figured he'd gone back to his own dorm. He turned his attention back to the toy and tangled his fingers through its fake fur. It was soft and stuffed the perfect amount so its limbs were flexible. As Blaine played with one of the ears, a small post it note fell to the pillow. He picked it up and grinned upon reading it, placing it on his pin board when he got up, looking over it one last time.

_Good morning, puppy._

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><p>Two days later, Kurt had approached Blaine, blue bow tie with yellow skulls on in hand. Blaine had kissed Kurt silly then looked the item over, his smile ever-growing until he saw the label.<p>

"Kurt, is this Alexander McQueen?" Kurt had nodded in response, taken one last kiss and walked away. "Well, it's better then something dead," Blaine said to himself, heading off to class.

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><p>By the sixth gift, (dinner at Breadstix, given after a new scarf and their first handjob – okay, so the handjob may not have been a gift, but Blaine was counting it) Blaine was starting to think Kurt had no idea this was animalium behaviour. After insisting Blaine could order whatever he liked and as much of it as he liked, Blaine <em>had <em>to ask.

"Kurt?"

"Mmm?" Kurt hummed, tapping his finger thoughtfully over a dish on the menu.

"Why do you keep giving me things?" Blaine winced because it wasn't supposed to sound- "Nice to know you appreciate them," – like that. Kurt was looking up at him now, tone flat and eyes hard. "I _love _them," Blaine said earnestly, laying a hand over Kurt's, "but you've done so much for me the past couple of weeks. We don't usually treat each other this often."

Kurt looked back down at his menu. "You know don't you?"

"If you're talking about knowing it's animalium behaviour, then yes."

"Google?"

"Google," Blaine nodded. Kurt nodded too, swiping his thumb across the top of Blaine's.

"I looked it up after I gave you the rose," Kurt begun. "I got back to my room and my only thought was 'Why did I do that?'"

"Oh," Blaine said quietly, picking at the tablecloth with his free hand.

"No, I did _want _to give you it I just didn't know why." Blaine gave him a small smile. "I saw it on my desk and couldn't think of doing anything else with it but giving it to you. So I did."

"Romance rather than rats," Blaine said to himself with a small laugh. Kurt frowned at him. "After I worked out what you were doing was the animalium form of hunting, that phrase just sort of… happened." Kurt was still eyeing him with a strange look. Blaine leant forward to rest his elbow on the table and gesticulate with his hand. "You know how cats bring in dead animals to show their hunting skills?" Kurt nodded. "I figured you'd just bring me gifts you know I'd love because for the animalium part of you, I'm your…"

"Owner," Kurt finished.

"I obviously don't think I'm your owner because you're your own being and I'd never claim you to be my property or anything an-"

"Blaine!" Kurt cut him off laughing, squeezing his hand. "You're not my owner, but," Kurt cocked his head to the side, looking Blaine straight in the eye, "I do belong to you." He shrugged one shoulder. "You have my heart and everything so." Blaine made a strangled sound in his throat and looked around nervously before getting up just enough to lean across and kiss Kurt. He flopped back in his seat with a grin, watching Kurt's ears twitch a little. Kurt smiled back and waved his tail from side to side. "You liked the gifts though?" Blaine nodded. "Good. So you won't mind if they keep coming? Or random ones every now and then? I'm going to try and work on ways to control my behaviours but-"

"As long as I can give some back," Blaine interrupted.

Kurt sighed lightly. "Blaine, you don't have to."

"You've given me loads recently and you deserve something in return. Just let me, okay?"

"Bla-" Blaine stopped him with a raised finger so he reluctantly agreed. "But nothing expensive," he warned. "You always spoil me."

"Does that Dior jacket you've had your eye on count as too expensive?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and rested his chin in his palm because the look on Blaine's face (the one that told Kurt he'd brought it already) was immune to protest. And that jacket really was nice.

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